Reunion
by Dublin O'Malley
Summary: What if something really had happened during the training scene in 3x06?


_** Set during the training scene when Damon says "That's your way to a vampire's heart." Am I the only one that screamed in agony when he didn't kiss her then? **_

Elena willed her muscles to keep up with the heavy dumbbell she was lifting. She grunted with each lift, feeling especially irritated that seventy-five pounds was so hard on her. She heard the door open and Damon strolled in.

"Are you going to bench-press a vampire?" he asked, coming to stand behind her. Instantly, her pulse raced as she felt his jeans brush her ponytail.

She tried to keep her voice even. "Don't you realise what's happening right now? Stefan called me a human blood bag." Her breath let out in a whoosh as she lifted again. "He's a completely different person."

As she brought the dumbbell down, Damon's hand clamped onto the bar holding the weights and pushed. Elena grunted, feeling her muscles scream at the exertion.

"What are you doing?" Elena exclaimed, irritated.

"Helping you out," Damon replied. Elena didn't even have to look at his face to know he was smirking.

"Damon!"

"Come on, Buffy." His tone was mocking and it aggravated her, but at the same time, she felt a tingling in her stomach.

She shook her head to clear it. "Stop it!" Elena pushed with all her might at the bar then finally dropped her hands, breathing hard. Damon easily lifted the dumbbell and placed it on the rack attached to the chair. Elena sat up.

"Like one obnoxious Salvatore isn't bad enough," she muttered, gritting her teeth against the pain in her muscles.

Damon walked over to a table in the room littered with vampire hunting tools and picked up a stake with attached bronze knuckles. "You called, I'm here. What's your plan, O warrior princess?" Damon slipped his fingers through the knuckle holes and did a mock stabbing motion.

Elena met Damon's eyes. "I want to lock Stefan up." Damon's smile faltered. "At least until this Mikael guy comes, kills Klaus and the compulsion breaks."

Damon's smirk gave way to a serious, tight lipped expression. "Compulsion or not, Stefan's high on human blood. Kay? A lot of it."

Elena reached her hands up to release her hair from her ponytail. "How do you know?" she asked. "We've gotten him off of it before." But even as she said this, her brain knew it hopeless. But some other part of her was urging her to keep fighting for the Stefan she used to know.

"Yeah, but this is different. This isn't a stint in rehab, Elena. His humanity's gone. Lights out. No one's home." Damon dropped the stake onto the table, disgusted. He once thought he wanted Stefan to be like this; uncaring, volatile and a complete dick. Now, he just wished he could have his moody, broody vampire brother back.

Elena sighed and dropped her hair tie into her lap. "Then do it for me, Damon," she pleaded, almost wearily. She slowly stood up. "Every single time I look at him, I feel like I'm gonna break and I'm _not _going to give him that satisfaction." Elena stood in front of him, looking up and into his eyes. When he was silent, she sighed and turned to walk away, only to be stopped by Damon's hand on her wrist, pulling her closer to him.

He grasped her hand in his and pressed it to his chest, between his pectorals.

"What are you doing?" she asked, confused. She was trying hard to ignore how light-headed she suddenly was and the buzzing in her palm where she touched Damon. She felt the slow pulse of Damon's heart and the warmth of his chest through his light grey long-sleeve T-shirt.

Damon rubbed her hand on his chest. "Feel that? That's the sternum; solid plate of bone." He quickly spun her so she was flush to his back and one of her wrists was caught in his hands. Elena gasped as Damon's fingers dipped slightly into her workout tank top.

Damon slowly kneaded his fingers below her ribs. His mouth pressed close to her ear. "And this is the spine. That's your way to a vampire's heart." Damon's fingers withdrew slowly from Elena's back and he released her wrist. She turned and immediately registered the fact that their faces were inches apart.

"Damon," breathed Elena and Damon's throat tightened.

"I'll do whatever it is you need me to do, Elena," Damon whispered, feeling his whole body vibrate with the electricity vibrating between them. They were so close Elena could smell Damon's shampoo. Damon didn't mind that Elena had just worked out for two hours, she smelled positively delicious to him. Elena leaned over those last few inches and gently touched her lips to his.

When she felt no reaction, only Damon's straining muscles, she pulled away.

Damon's eyes were bright with surprise, but at the same time dark, with something deep and lingering. Elena, too, was shocked at her own actions.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't…I'll just go," she stuttered and turned away. Suddenly, she was pulled tight to Damon's chest. She breathed in deeply as his scent engulfed her.

"Please, don't go. I just…I just don't want this to be something you'll regret. You love Stefan, remember? And it will always be Stefan," Damon said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Elena's heart squeezed at his vulnerability.

Elena hung her head, resting her forehead in the hollow of Damon's throat.

"I know, I'm sorry. I thought it would always be him. But, I just can't do it anymore. I can't deny these feelings…" She trailed off as Damon lifted her head with his hand, his palm cupping her cheek.

"So don't," he whispered. His dark eyes probed hers and seemed to get darker by the second.

He moved slow, giving her time to think it through or escape. He even dropped his arms from around her waist; but Elena clasped their hands together. Damon's free hand ran through Elena's hair. It was amazing how perfectly their lips fit together, like they were made for each other. Damon's lips were much softer than she expected, mostly because everything about Damon seemed calloused.

Elena brought her hand up and gripped Damon's shoulder blade. It really was like a fireworks show. Bright stars were bursting behind Elena's eyelids. She felt like their lips were crackling together, sending bolts of electricity through her body that made her toes curl. And in Elena's heart… she felt something swelling.

When Elena's hands roamed down past Damon's waist to his belt, then to tentatively touch his semi-hard erection, Damon hissed. He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, feeling out of breath and lightheaded, but loving every second of it. "Did I do something wrong?" Elena rubbed him again and felt his groan vibrate through his whole body.

"No, no. In fact, you did something that was very right," Damon breathed, his jaw clenching. "But I'd rather you stop doing that or I may not be able to control myself. And if this…" he pointed at the both of them, "…is going to work, then I think we should wait."

Elena felt her cheeks redden as she removed her hand from Damon and took a step back, studying her suddenly interesting bare feet.

"Sorry," she muttered, embarrassed.

"Hey," said Damon. When she didn't answer, he put a finger under her chin, feeling the warmth in her cheeks. "Elena." He slowly tilted her head up so she would look into his eyes. "I never said I wasn't content with doing this," he said and brought his lips back to hers.

He felt a hesitation in her lips and pulled back. "Is something wrong?" asked Damon, his eyes searching hers. They started to fill with tears. "Elena! What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.

"Do really love me?" she asked, looking helpless and afraid.

Damon used his thumbs to brush away Elena's tears. "Yes," he said, without hesitation.

Elena threw her arms around Damon's waist. "Oh, Damon. I'm sorry," she cried, soaking his shirt with her tears.

He stroked the top of her head and murmured, "Shh, it's all right. I've got you." She squeezed him and he almost sighed in contentment.

Elena sniffed and went silent for a moment. "I love you, too, Damon."

And that was how they stayed for more than forty-five minutes, locked in an embrace that to a stranger, would have looked like a normal hug, but to them, it was the reunion of a lifetime.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well? Not bad for a first story, eh? I reckon this will get about…2 reviews? 2 and a half maybe…who knows, right? Maybe you could help me out with that little review problem by clicking the shiny purple or blue…multicoloured…'Review' button! Wouldn't that be so GENEROUS of you? <strong>_

_**Love, Anoraks and Hiding From Bobbies,**_

_**Rae Scrausson**_

_**(Song of the Day: Video Games- Lana del Rey)**_


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